Authors: Jennifer Ryan
She didn’t want to lose this closeness. “How about I help you with lunch, and we watch one of those shows you’re always talking about on TV?”
“I’m corrupting you with TV.”
“We’ll snuggle and maybe make out.”
“Maybe?”
“Definitely.” She smiled up at him.
He traced his finger over her forehead. “That’s better.”
She smirked. “You know we’re going to make out.”
“No. You smiling again is better. I hate it when you’re sad.”
Bell smoothed her hands over his chest. “You make me happy.”
“I’m trying.”
“We’ll let it be for now.” She went up on tiptoe and hugged him close again, his arms wrapped around her, all his strength and kindness easing her mind and heart. “I just want to be with you.”
“Done.”
They made lunch together and settled on the couch, paper plates with roast beef sandwiches and chips balanced on their laps. Dane found an action adventure movie.
“Lots of explosions, little story line, and mind-numbing fun.”
“I’ll take it.”
She never did see the end of the movie. Instead, Dane pressed her into the couch cushions, laid down the length of her, and made her forget everything but her need and love for him.
D
ane sat on the patio at Wolf Ranch, watching Justin and Bell out in the field playing with Justin’s dog, Charlie, and Ella’s dog, Bentley. Justin and Bell threw balls, and the two dogs took off after them. Justin laughed when Bentley jumped up on him and tried to stuff the ball into his neck with his mouth. Bell pushed the dog off the boy, took the ball from Bentley, and handed it to Justin to throw again.
Blake and Gillian were inside with Gillian’s grandparents, the Kendricks, and Dane’s parents. Ella sat on the stone ledge watching the two play.
Gabe sat beside Dane, staring at him.
“What?” Dane finally asked, tired of the scrutiny.
“You’re in love with her.”
Dane raised one eyebrow. “Yeah. So?”
“So, is this a forever kind of thing, or I’ll-let-it-ride-for-now kind of thing?”
“You ever seen me do the I’ll-let-it-ride-for-now thing?”
Gabe narrowed his eyes. “No. So it’s all or nothing?”
Dane stared at his love, standing in the field, and couldn’t think of spending a single day without her. “I’m all in.”
“Huh.” Gabe took a sip from his drink, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I never thought you’d fall this fast and hard.”
“Why? You did for Ella. Blake did for Gillian. Why can’t I have that with her?”
“She’s not the type of woman I ever thought you’d go for, but she is kind of perfect for you,” Gabe said. Dane had said something similar to him about Ella.
“Because she doesn’t let me get away with any BS?”
“That. You’ve changed these last weeks you’ve spent with her. You’re more thoughtful. Settled.”
“Aren’t those good things?”
“I thought you’d have a hard time transitioning back to ranch life. The daily grind. But you seem . . . what’s the word? Happy.”
Dane smiled and shook his head. “I am happy. The ranch is a work in progress. I’ve got another week in this brace and a couple more of physical therapy after that. Bell took off the next two weeks of work. After the funeral on Sunday, I thought I’d take her away on a short vacation.”
“Where do you want to go? I’ll set it up,” Ella offered.
“Ella, you are not the family travel planner. I can do it myself,” Dane replied. When Ella frowned, he explained, “Thanks for offering, but I want to do it and surprise her.”
“Taking her away from here won’t solve the Rowdy problem,” Gabe said.
“No, but if she’s not here, he can’t hurt her.”
“How is she doing now that she met her father?” Ella asked.
“You tell me. How does it feel to know your own family hates you? How do you cope with that? The man acted like she’s a complete stranger. It made me sick to hear the way he spoke to her without any compassion or . . . I don’t know, feeling.”
“Finding out about her grandfather must have helped,” Ella said. “I had my sister. She had her grandfather.”
“But Bell doesn’t have any memories of him like you do of Lela. She drifts away on her sadness. I pull her back to me, but I’m afraid it’s stronger than me sometimes.”
Ella turned and stared at Bell, standing in the field looking off into the distance. Dane felt her loneliness and sadness from here.
“Give her time,” Ella said. “It’s a lot to reconcile. Hardships like this are even more difficult when it’s family. Betrayal like that is never expected and so hard to get over.”
“I think she might have an easier time getting over it. She expected her father to dismiss her. You never expected your uncle to come after you.”
Gillian and Blake walked out on the patio. “Time to eat.”
Gabe rose from his seat and grabbed Ella’s wrist, pulling her up and over his shoulder. He stood tall, and she screamed and laughed at the same time, smacking him on the butt to put her down. “You can’t carry me like this anymore.”
“Why not? Now I’ve got you right where I want you.” Gabe gave her a smack on the butt.
“Put me down.” Ella’s voice rose with concern. “I’m pregnant.”
Gabe hurried to put her back on her feet gently. He stared down at her. “What?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“You’re sure? The last two months you didn’t say anything . . .”
Ella pressed her fingers to his lips. “I’m sure.”
Gabe confessed to Dane weeks ago that they’d been trying for the last six months to get pregnant but had only been disappointed. The smile on his brother’s and Ella’s faces told him how much they wanted this.
“You’re pregnant,” Gabe repeated. “We’re having a baby.”
“Yes and no.”
“What?” Gabe’s eyes narrowed with concern.
“Yes, I’m pregnant, but not with one baby. Two.”
“Twins?”
“I’m about seven weeks along. I had an ultrasound yesterday when I went to town, and you thought I only went grocery shopping. The doctor confirmed.”
“Twins.” That single word held all the surprise and awe showing on Gabe’s face.
“Genetically speaking, the odds are much higher for a twin to have twins,” Bell said, stepping up beside Dane. “Congratulations.”
The congratulations rang out from everyone.
Dane’s mother joined them on the patio and hugged Ella close. “Just think, it won’t be long before we’ll have three new members of the Bowden family, between you and Gillian giving birth. They’ll grow up together and play together.”
“I’ll be an uncle to three babies,” Justin announced.
Bell looked up at Dane. “You’re going to be an uncle to a lot of little ones soon.”
Somewhere inside, a piece of him wanted her to tell him he’d be a father soon. He hadn’t known he’d wanted that at this point in his life, but seeing his family surrounding them, Gillian’s belly growing, knowing Ella carried two more Bowden babies, he wanted it very much. He wondered how Bell felt about having a baby and starting a family. Did she want that for herself after the way she’d been raised and treated by her own family? He didn’t know and wasn’t sure how to ask her.
The thought of spending his life with her and never having kids made him feel unfulfilled. He wanted her to be his wife and the mother of his kids. He wanted to have it all with her. He hoped she wanted that, too.
“Come on, the table is set, the food is getting cold. Let’s eat and celebrate all we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving,” his mother said.
Everyone went inside, but Bell held Dane’s arm to make him wait.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I just wanted to tell you that I am the most thankful for having you in my life.”
Her honesty melted his heart. “I’m the lucky one, Bell.” He kissed her softly, remembering his whole family was inside watching them out the giant windows.
He took her hand to walk with her into dinner. Before they got to the door, she asked, “Does it make you nervous that all of your brothers either are or are about to be fathers?”
“No. Why would it?”
“This from the man who has a drawer full of condoms next to his bed.”
“Any time you want me to keep that drawer shut, all you have to do is say so, sweetheart.”
She cocked her head and stared up at him. “That surprises me. You’re always so careful.”
“Always have been. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to be a father someday.” There, he’d said it out loud, but he still didn’t know and couldn’t read in her how she felt about having a baby. “What about you?” He held his breath waiting for her answer.
“What? Do I want to have kids?”
“Yes.”
“Yes. I think about it a lot. Especially now,” she confessed on a whisper and a soft smile.
“You mean now that we’re sleeping together all the time. Living together. Getting closer every day.”
“Yes.”
The relief washed through him. “Then we’re thinking the same thing.”
She put her hands on his chest and stared up at him. “Are you serious?”
He squeezed her hips, pulled her snug against his body, and looked her right in the eye. “I’m dead serious about you.”
Gabe whistled for them to come in.
Dane traced his finger along the side of her face and gave her the God’s honest truth. “I love you. You’re a part of my life now. You are my future. The one I have because of you. The one I look forward to because of you.”
Bell’s eyes shined with unshed tears.
He cupped her cheek in his palm. She leaned into his hand. “No more crying, sweetheart. It kills me when you cry.”
“Then kiss me.”
He didn’t need to be told. Kissing her was his pleasure. He did so, keeping in mind they had an audience. She shivered in his arms.
“Let’s go. It’s getting colder every day,” he complained.
Inside, Dane helped her off with her coat. He laid it over the back of the sofa, and they took their seats beside each other at the table. Dane kept her hand in his.
“It’s about time you two stopping kissing, and we started eating,” Colt said from across the table.
“Jealous?” Dane asked, egging Colt on.
“How did your bachelor dates go?” Ella asked all three of the Kendrick brothers.
“Don’t ask,” they said in unison.
Everyone around the table laughed.
Dane’s father stood at the head of the table and raised his glass of wine. They all followed suit.
“I think we can all agree on the one thing we are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Family.”
They all clinked glasses.
Dane leaned into Bell’s side and whispered in her ear as she surveyed everyone around the table. He kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand. “Look around you, sweetheart. This is your family. This is where you belong.”
B
ell stood next to the stall door, petting Dane’s favorite horse, Demon. After the funeral service on Sunday, he’d brought her down here and introduced her to all of his beloved horses. He’d saddled Demon, plunked her in front of him, and taken her for a ride. Nervous and scared at first, she’d settled into Dane and the horse’s gait. By the time they’d reached the river where they’d first met, she’d relaxed and discovered she loved riding. Dane promised to teach her.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Dane called, walking out of a stall down the aisle. One of the horses was sick. Dr. Potts had come to tend to the animal. He walked out of the stall behind Dane. “Give Demon one of those candies on the table beside you,” Dane told Bell. “He loves them.”
She picked up the roll and peeled one off. “You give him cherry Life Savers.”
“He likes them.”
“Dr. Bell, looks like you’ve made a friend.” Dr. Potts nodded to the huge horse leaning over the gate trying to get his candy.
“He may be big, but he’s a pussycat.”
“Dane knows how to tame the meanest of beasts. Demon was quite the biter when he got here.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes. Dane’s right up there with Blake when it comes to training horses. You have a nice day. I’m headed out, Dane,” Dr. Potts called down the aisle.
“See you, Doc. Thanks for coming by and checking on Maggie.”
“I’ll be back around next week. Call if you need me sooner.”
“Will do.” Dane stopped beside Bell and gave Demon a pat down his long neck. “Alone at last.”
She smiled. “We are never alone. Your guys are just out in the corral working with another horse.”
“We’re alone enough for me to do this.” He leaned down and kissed her softly.
He tried to back her into the stall door, but she sidestepped when Demon nibbled at her hair. To play, she backed away from Dane, and he pursued her with long strides that closed the distance quickly, that wicked smile she loved on his face.
The smile disappeared, and Dane snaked out his hand and grabbed her by the neck to pull her close. “Damnit, I tell those guys every day.” He reached behind her and pulled the sharp metal rake from the wall hanger, turned it around, and rehung it so the tines weren’t sticking out. If she’d backed into it, she could have been seriously injured. “One of these days, someone is going to get hurt.”
“Why don’t you hang it down lower, or put it somewhere else?”
“I guess I should, but it’s such a convenient place to keep all the tools hung up.”
She surveyed the array of shovels and rakes. It made sense to keep them here within easy reach.
A loud whistle went up from one of the guys. Dane narrowed his eyes on her.
“Someone is here. Stay put.”
“I’m not staying in here alone. I’m coming with you.”
“I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“I’m the safest when I’m with you.”
He frowned and narrowed his eyes, but took her hand and led her out of the stables. A white van pulled into the driveway. The woman at the wheel got out, rounded the front, and opened the passenger door. She pulled out a blonde toddler from the front seat.
“Kaley,” Dane whispered. “What is Mrs. Hubbard doing here?”
Nervous for no reason she could decipher, Bell said, “Let’s go find out.”
Kaley saw Dane coming and ran for him. Her little legs were still unsteady, but she made it the ten feet to him with a big smile and her arms stretched up to him.
Dane picked her up off her feet and held her to his chest. “Hello, beautiful, how’s my girl.”
“Da.”
“That’s right, baby. Almost there. Add a couple more letters to that, and you’ll have my full name. You’re still the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” He glanced down at Bell. “Second prettiest to you, sweetheart.”
“Such a charmer,” she teased, rolling her eyes.
“Hello, Mrs. Hubbard. This is my girlfriend, Dr. Bell. Bell, Brandy’s mother, Mrs. Hubbard.”
“Patty, please.”
“How are you, Patty?” Dane asked.
“Tired, but we made it. I’m sorry to show up out of the blue like this.”
Bell eyed the back of the van, full of boxes and furniture. The alarm that went off upon their arrival went off again.
“That’s okay,” Dane said, kissing Kaley’s cheek.
“We need to talk.” The serious note in Patty’s voice made Dane’s smile falter.
“Okay. Come inside.” He turned to the house with Kaley still in his arms.
The little girl tugged on his nose and pressed her forehead to his cheek. “Da.”
Bell had to admit, they looked really cute together. She didn’t have to wonder what he’d be like with his own children. He obviously adored the little girl.
Dane showed Patty into the family room. Dane set Kaley down by the coffee table. Patty pulled a container from the diaper bag. “Do you mind? She’s hungry. We’ve been on the road for hours today.”
“Not at all,” Dane said.
Patty poured some crackers on the table for Kaley and set her sippy cup next to it. Kaley dug in, grabbing a handful and stuffing them into her mouth.
“One at a time, Kaley,” Patty said, smiling at the girl’s exuberance. The smile faltered and tears came into her eyes. “She looks so much like her mother.”
“Yes, she does,” Dane agreed. “I’m sorry for your loss, for what happened to Brandy. Everything. I wish I could have made her memorial service.”
Patty waved her hand to brush that aside. “I understand. You’ve had enough to deal with here with that evil monster Rowdy making trouble. I hate him. I can’t believe they haven’t found him. He’s the one who should be dead. Not my Brandy. He won’t stop.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s been calling. Making threats. He uses those . . . what do they call them? Burner phones, so the police can’t trace the call.”
“Is he threatening you?”
“Not me. Kaley. He wants her.”
“No way he gets her. The police will lock him up for the rest of his life for killing Brandy and Mrs. Warwick, not to mention the attempted hit-and-run on Bell.”
“I realize that, but I can’t protect Kaley if he comes back. The police keep watch on our place and me when I’m able to leave my husband in order to run errands and things, but it’s not enough. There’s something else.”
“What?”
She sucked in a deep breath and whispered out, “I’m dying.”
“What?” Dane’s surprise and concern showed on his face. He went to Patty, sat beside her on the couch, and took her hand. “Brandy never said anything to me.”
“I told her the morning she died. She was upset. I can’t help but think—” Tears clogged her throat and choked off her words. “That when she died she knew there’d be no one left to look after Kaley. I had no choice but to move her father into a care facility two days ago. That’s when we drove here.”
“Patty, I don’t understand why you came to me. If Rowdy wants to take Kaley, this is the last place you should have brought her.”
“I thought Brandy died believing no one would look out for Kaley, but I was wrong. She planned for this eventuality. Oh, it breaks my heart to know she believed that man would go too far one day and kill her. I wish I could have saved her from that man. But she found a way to save Kaley from him.”
“How?” Dane asked.
Patty pulled a thick folder from the diaper bag. “Kaley is yours. I brought her here to live with her father. Soon you will be the only family she has left.”
Dane’s mouth dropped open. He pulled his racing thoughts together. “You can’t leave her here with me.”
Bell gasped. He glanced at her. The blood drained from her face. She turned on her heel and walked out the front door, slamming it shut behind her. Dane held back the curse burning on his tongue.
“Oh, dear. I’m sorry,” Patty said.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Dane ran for the door and flew through it.
Dane’s footsteps crunched on the gravel as he ran up to Bell. He grabbed her jacket and stopped her in her tracks before she opened the truck door and ran away from him.
“Don’t you dare get in that truck and leave without listening to what I have to say.”
She turned to face him, her heart torn in two, making her chest ache so bad she could barely breathe. “What is there to say? You just told her that you don’t want your daughter. She can’t stay here.”
Fury flashed in his eyes, but he reined in his temper and gently cupped Bell’s cheek. “I cannot tell you how much it hurts me that you think I’d do that.”
“You just said—”
“And now I’m going to explain, so shut up and listen. I will forget you could possibly think I’m that heartless because you’re looking at this through your past-colored glasses. I’m asking you to look at me. Remember everything you know about me and tell me if you truly think I’d turn my back on my child.” He bit out the words. She hated that she’d hurt his feelings, but she still didn’t understand why he didn’t want his child.
“No. No. But if she’s yours, why wouldn’t you want her to stay here?”
“Damnit Bell, she isn’t mine.”
“She calls you Da.”
“She’s not even two. She can’t say Dane. I’m telling you the truth. I am not Kaley’s father.”
“But you told me you slept with Brandy that one time.”
“Yes. I may not be a genius, but I can do the math. I slept with Brandy five months before she got pregnant with Kaley. I used a condom. I always use a condom. You know that.
“The reason I don’t want Patty to leave her here with me is that Kaley belongs with her family. You better than anyone should understand that much. I can’t take her away from them.”
No, Dane would never do that. Family mattered. Friends mattered. Bell pressed her fingertips to her temples. “I’m still confused. Why does she want you to keep Kaley if she’s not yours?”
“I was about to find that out when you ran out on me.”
“I’m sorry.” Her bottom lip trembled and tears welled in her eyes.
He pulled her close and hugged her tight to his body. She snuggled close, hoping she hadn’t damaged this wonderful thing they shared and she couldn’t live without.
“I know you are, sweetheart. Don’t ever run away like that again. If you’re upset or mad at me, then say so. I can take it. There’s nothing we can’t work out.”
“I’m sorry I thought the worst.”
“Next time ask me what I mean instead of just leaving.”
“I will. I promise.” She pressed her forehead to his chest and sniffled, holding onto him, afraid to let him go.
“Bell, everything is okay. I’m not mad at you.”
“That was a really mean thing I thought about you.”
“You had your reasons. I get that. With my reputation, it’s not a far reach to think I might have fathered a dozen babies.”
“Two dozen,” she suggested, raising one eyebrow.
He laughed, knowing she was right. He’d been a complete dog in his day, but he’d changed his ways now that he’d become loyal to her.
“I don’t know how you put up with me,” she said.
“I’m still the lucky one,” he replied, kissing her on top of her head.
She looked up, and he took advantage and kissed her softly. She’d forgotten to grab her jacket on her mad dash out the door. He held her closer to his body to keep her warm and made her burn by taking the kiss deeper, showing her how much he loved her. One misunderstanding wouldn’t change that.
“Patty is waiting for us to come back. I am so embarrassed for running out like that.”
“Don’t be. Let’s go find out what’s really going on.”
“Okay.” They walked back up the path and took the stairs up to the porch. Before Dane opened the door she said one more time, “I’m really sorry.”
He hugged her close to his side. “I love you, Bell.”
“I love you, too.”
Patty played with Kaley on the couch, holding her hands and letting her jump on the cushion. She looked over at them when they walked in.
“I’m so sorry I sprang that on you the way I did. Bell, what you must think.”
“Why don’t you explain why you want to leave Kaley with me,” Dane suggested.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath and hugged Kaley close. “I have stage four breast cancer. The doctors say I’ve only got weeks left. No matter what happens, I’d need to find someone to raise Kaley. Brandy made sure that if something happened to her, that person would be you. She never said anything to me. Probably so I wouldn’t worry. But I found the papers, and she names you.”
Patty handed the folder to Dane. Bell stood beside him and looked over the papers with him.
“Brandy put Dane’s name on the birth certificate,” Bell said on a gasp.
“I can only think she did that to ensure Rowdy never got custody of Kaley,” Patty explained. “She kept a copy of every check Dane sent to her each month.”
“To prove he’d been supporting his daughter,” Bell guessed. “You’ve got text messages between you and Brandy where you ask about Kaley and demand she send you photos. Even if Rowdy demanded a DNA test, she’s proven that you are the father of record and that you not only took an interest in Kaley but you also supported the child you believed is yours.”
“But I know she’s not.”
“Yes, but she knew you’d keep Kaley from Rowdy. You’d go to court, and you’d say Kaley is yours. You’d fight for her to keep her safe.”
“See, now that is the Bell who believes in me. The one who loves me and sees me for who I really am.”
“I took those past-colored glasses off and smashed them underfoot.”
Dane caressed Bell’s cheek, then turned to Patty. “Still, Patty, I can’t take Kaley from her family. If you’re sick, don’t you want to spend as much time with her as you can?”
“I want that more than anything, but I need to be sure she has a home and someone who will love her the way Brandy and I loved her. Dane, I’m asking you to fulfill my daughter’s last wish. Take care of her daughter and make sure that man never sees her again.”
Dane stared down at Kaley, hugging a stuffed rabbit to her chest, sucking her thumb, and dozing off with her head propped against her grandmother’s arm. Such a sweet girl. Too young to have lost her mother and soon her grandmother. She deserved better. She deserved a loving home with family, but if she couldn’t have that, how could he say no, when he could give her a good life?